ST’s ‘Telemaco’ family combines telematics and connectivity functions in the same chip, delivering economical, scalable platform

Latest-generation chips pack in hardware-accelerated cybersecurity and extra processing power to support more sophisticated connected-driving applications

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has boosted performance and security in its latest Telemaco processors tailored to support richer connected-driving services.

Telematics systems that monitor on-board sensors and exchange information with the Cloud are becoming increasingly sophisticated to support high-value services including remote vehicle diagnostics, roadside assistance, and Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates. Infotainment features like location-based services and access to personal content and contacts add further benefit for end users. Over 72% of new cars globally will be fitted with factory-installed telematics systems by 2021, according to ABI Research, and there are opportunities for aftermarket systems, as well as OEM and independent telematics service providers.

ST’s Telemaco concept helps maximize consumer access to these advanced connected-driving services through the cost-effective integration of the telematics processor, secure in-car connectivity, and sound boosting in a single chip. Unlike alternative devices, which are typically based on an application processor or a GSM modem with integrated CPU (Central Processing Unit), ST’s latest Telemaco3 chips are tailored for telematics applications and give extra flexibility to choose the connection type, such as 2G, 3G, or 4G. At the same time, the secure interface with the in-vehicle network is enhanced with a hardware cryptographic accelerator, and connectivity extended with Gigabit Ethernet support and the option to host a Wi-Fi module that can be used as an in-car hotspot.

“Today’s connected-driving applications have shown car owners how telematics services can help them gain more satisfaction from their vehicles and journeys, and more sophisticated new services will continue emerging,” said Antonio Radaelli, Director, Infotainment, Automotive Digital Division, STMicroelectronics. “As the industry’s only purpose-designed telematics and connectivity controllers, our new Telemaco3 chips provide the performance needed to support next-generation connected-driving services and enable automotive OEMs and aftermarket vendors to bring compelling new products to market.”

The Telemaco3 family comprises the STA1175, STA1185, and STA1195 ICs, which provide choices such as various numbers of CAN interfaces and the optional DSP subsystem, enabling users to scale their designs. Devices are sampling now to lead customers, and full production is scheduled for December 2017.

The Telemaco3 family increases performance for telematics and connectivity applications, compared to the previous Telemaco2 generation, by upgrading the execution speed of the power- and area-efficient main processor more than 3.5X–from 700 DMIPS to 2500 DMIPS.

The dedicated ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller, which manages the interface with the vehicle CAN network, supports the latest CAN-FD flexible data-rate standard that allows higher data speeds and greater communication efficiency. In addition, the new hardware-accelerated crypto engine strengthens authentication of data and OTA system updates.

The DSP sound subsystem is an optional feature that enhances the audio quality of in-car connectivity applications with features such as noise cancellation.

Off-chip interfaces provide high performance and give flexibility to system designers. They include interfaces for CAN-FD drivers, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless modules, an analog power amplifier output, and interfaces for external memory including Flash and DDR3 SDRAM. The on-chip DDR3 controller allows designers to use cost-effective and high-performing storage leveraging PC-market economies of scale.

Power management helps simplify design and save external components, thereby streamlining bill-of-materials costs. In addition, always-on circuitry that keeps basic functions in a ready-to-use state, as well as smart boot for fast response to events such as CAN interrupts, also help to minimize the load on the vehicle’s energy supply while ensuring rapid event handling.

Software-development support including a rich Linux kernel and board-support package (BSP), middleware including communication stacks and navigation software, and a FreeRTOS kernel for the Cortex-M3 subsystem, helps accelerate project completion and allows development to leverage the extensive Linux open-source ecosystem.